Hallsford Sheep
Meat from Hallsford Sheep can be split into 3 categories. New Season Lamb, Hogget and Mutton.
New Season Lamb (NSL)
In the North of England, most lambs are born from March to May. The latter ones are normally raised further up the hill. In a good year, with good feed (grass and perhaps supplementary creep feed) and good shepherding, these will start being ready for slaughter in about 4 months.
NSL is light and tender. Being so tender is it simple to cook and great for things like kebabs, flash frying and probably air fryers, but I haven’t ventured there yet.
Roasting Joints can be cooked fast and left pink in the middle, if desired. We sometimes stud with Apricots and Thyme or Garlic Cloves. Andrew Tomkins
Hogget
We start calling sheep meat Hogget in the January following spring birth, so from approx. 9 months of age. By this time the meat is developing some depth of flavour. Flavour comes with age. I would also argue that you get more flavour from Traditional and Rare Breed Sheep. We use:
- Llanwenog (Rare Breed)
- Herdwick (Traditional Breed)
- Oxford Down Cross (Rare Breed)
- Cheviot (South Country) Cross. (Traditional Breed)
- Badger Face Welsh Mountain (Traditional Breed)
Eating Quality. Hogget is much better for Diced, Roasting and Slow Cooking. The Loin is fine as well, ie Loin Chops, Barnsleys, Cutlets and Noisettes. Cannons are always tender. We tend to stop cutting Hogget leg steaks after it reaches 12 months. They will be fine for braising but not flash frying. For Kebabs, I would marinate before cooking ie. Greek Style (Olive Oil, Lemon Juice and Oregano).
Roasting. This is definitely the best meat for Roasting. More depth of flavour. Flavour develops with age. Cook like Topside. Start at a High Temperature, reduce for a longer slow period and then you can boost at the end if you need to. Andrew Tomkins
Mutton
We regard Mutton as old sheep that has come to the end of its useful working life. It can be older Hogget, but true mutton is the former.
Bags of flavour, however, it requires braising (cooking with liquid). There is one exception to braising, the Cannon, being the loin it is still tender. This can be used for stir fry, warm salad, etc
Mutton is Ideal for slow-cooked Curries, Casseroles, etc. One of our favourite winter recipes is:
Andrew’s Overnight Mutton.
- 2 Cans of Tomatoes, or fresh is you have them.
- 1 Large onion, chopped and gently fried.
- Mix together and ‘Ziz’ with hand held blender.
- Add a splash of Soy Sauce.
- Brown off your Mutton ( we love Short Shanks or knuckles but you can use any cuts)
- Put the Mutton into the Sauce in a big enough casserole dish.
- Bring the Heat up on the Hob and then put into the Oven at a very low temperature. We use an Aga, so it goes in the Simmering Oven overnight.
- In the morning, season with salt & pepper to taste.
- If it needs thickening, use a bit of cornflour.
- It should be served with plenty of mashed potato and a vegetable.
- Don’t forget a decent Red Wine. I currently like good Malbecs, but the Wine Society’s very good Shiraz goes well with this as well.
- Eat, Chill and enjoy.
Goals for our flock
The plan is to grow the flock so we can re-establish traditional & rare breeds that suit our environment.
We will establish a range of rams that enhance the breed characteristics.
We have started to put the breed through the butchery and hope to increase sales of these amazing breeds. For it to become a named meat.
We plan to sell females on to other rare native breeders and also for cross-breeding.
We may also cross-breed to increase our levels of meat that follows our strict breeding process.
To grow this rare traditional & native breeds.
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